A New Day Has Come
by Rawen
Summary: This is timed the first season. The gang is dragged into a new adventure, that perhaps can turn out to be their last one. Brock/other R. Please review
1. I

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters; they are property of Official Nintendo. As I wrote in the summary, this is all `event's` timed in the red and blue version of the game.

Chapter I.

The sun was grinning above their heads and the birds were singing happily in the trees. Red, yellow, orange and green colored the forest in a haze of autumn tones. 

However, Ash Ketchum, was not busy studying the beautiful haze, he was busy completing his ultimate goal, to become the ultimate pokémon master, to cath`em all. Together with Misty, Brock and Pikachu, his best friends, he had traveled across the country and witnessed extraordinary things. He had also met many new friends and had learned more about pokémon, then others that set out on their pokémon journey the same year he did, almost two years ago.

Right now, he felt he was closer to achieving his goal then ever before, they were on the road to Fuchsia city, he had defeated a young pokémon trainer, had captured another pokémon to his collection, a Lickitung, and had decided to head home and beginning the preparation for the League.  

However, Misty insisted they visit Fuchsia City she had some old friends she had not seen in ages and wanted to introduce them to her friends. But, before they could fulfill that goal, they had another, bigger problem to solve:

Finding their way back to Route 15.

"I am pretty sure that this was the way" Ash mused and studied the map. Brock and Misty knew not to say anything, Ash was to darn stubborn to listen to their advice, and it was not as if it was the first time they got lost.

Ash turned the map around, wondering if he could have been so stupid and held the map upside down (again). No matter how many times he twisted and turned the map, he did not grow any wiser and he wondered if he was going to admit defeat and ask his friends for help.

He decided not to. 

"This way" he said, a little more confident then he felt. Brock, who had been resting on a rock, rose slowly and scratched the bridge of his nose. Misty also rose and furrowed her eyebrows before she snatched the map out of Ash's hands.

"Are you sure…?" she asked a little suspiciously and Ash nodded.

"Positive, come on Pikachu!" he called brightly, grabbed his backpack and started to walk.

They started to dash thought the forest jumping over small logs, and avoiding the bug pokémons, that now and then crossed their paths. Ash was no longer interested in catching them, as young trainer they had proved quiet the challenge, now they were nothing of interest.

They had not walked far before they saw a young boy, standing in the middle of some bushes. He was dressed in dark green jeans, a bright green anorak and even greener hat, dragged down over his ears. It seemed like he had not notice their arrival, because he stood totally still with his eyes closed.

Misty, Brock and Ash stopped in their tracks and stared at each other, waiting for somebody to say something. Pikachu crept out from behind Ash's feet, stared at the stranger and tilted his head to the left.

Suddenly, the boy's eyes flew open and when he saw them, he jumped in surprise and stumbled backwards.

"Do you always sneak up on people like that?" he accused and retrained his balance. Brock shook his head, and answered calmly.

"No, sorry if we scared you…. but what are you doing?"

The boy looked around, as he was expecting more people to appear from nowhere.

"I was listening to the sounds of a Rhyhorn," he said proudly.

"A Rhyhorn?" Ash asked and the boy nodded.

"Yes, some of the Rhyhorns have escaped from the Safari Zone and I want to catch one!"

"How have they managed to escape?" Misty asked and the boy shrugged.

"I dunno…. they say somebody damaged the fences, or maybe they broke free anyway…" the boy paused and stared at the people in front of them, considering them as possible rivals, after a few minutes he shrugged it off.

"…Anyway I have been looking some of them all the morning, but I can't find any"

"Do you know who did it, destroyed the fences" Ash asked and the boy shook his head.

"Nope, at first officer Jenny suspected perhaps Team Rocket, but it is not their style, they think it is the thief who has been stealing from all the shops lately"

"Thief?" Misty asked, and this time Brock cut in.

"I remembered seeing it in the paper a couple of days ago, a thief has been stealing from the Marts" 

"Yeah…I remember as well…." Ash said, not wanting to admit that he did not pay attention to any headlines.

"Yes, she has been quit the trouble for the merchants and for us pokémon trainers as well" the boy added.

"She?" Misty asked puzzled.

"Yeah, it is a girl, and she uses her pokémon to aid in the stealing it gives us all a bad reputation" the boy's voice rose and he sounded angry.

"How does she use her pokémon?" Ash asked, feeling his shoulder tense slightly. If it was, one thing he hated it was people using pokémon to aid in their mischief.

"The police wont say, it is really hush, hush, they don't want to admit that a girl can escape the long arm of the law" the boy chuckled and Misty smiled.

Ash turned to Brock, and Misty and his eyes were sparkling in an all to familiar way, but before he could open his mouth Misty said quickly.

"No Ash, we are not going to look for her, my friend is expecting us," she said in a voice that reminded him too much of his own mother scolding him. His shoulders sank down and he sighed, knowing she was right.

"Well, then good luck" Ash said to the boy and he nodded slowly.

"By the way…" Brock said quickly. "Could you point us to Rout 15?"

The boy pointed to a spot among the trees and nodded again.

"Sure just walk in that direction, it is no more then ten minutes"

"Thanks for you help…" Brock trailed off.

"Greg" Greg said and smiled.

"Thanks for you help Greg, and good luck."

            Greg was right; after just ten minutes, they broke through some bushes and were standing on what had to be Route 15. Ash looked back; jealously at Greg's direction, there was nothing more he wanted then to join him in the search for the missing Rhynhorns or the hunt for the thief.

"I get really mad when people abuse pokémon like that!" Misty growled and Pikachu nodded in agree, sparks running across his yellow body.

"Me to, I do not understand how they can do it" Brock added.

"They are jerks, that is all" Misty stated and then turned to look at Ash, his eyes were still sparkling dreamingly.

"Forget it Ash, this mystery we are not going to solve, we are heading to Fuchsia, to visit my friend and then it is home to Pallet," she warned and Ash sighed, but did not protest.

They started to walk again, the sun was starting to reach the highpoint of noon on the sky and the birds were still accompanying them with their choir, although not as brightly as before.

Ash was deep in though while they walked, he could not escape the feeling that there was something more to the theft then what he knew. Deep down he knew that this was a mystery he could not escape, that this time it would brig him on a new and adventures path.

And a dangerous one.


	2. II

Disclaimer: you know….

Chapter 2.

"It can't be far now" Ash said brightly and heard Pikachu sigh deeply; he was sitting on his back, nodding sleepily.

Brock, who had been announced map-reader, looked at the parchment again and let his finger trail the road leading to Fuchsia. 

"No, only a couple of minutes or so…. we should see the city as soon as we reach the top of that hill"

They reached the top of the hill a few minutes later and stopped to rest. Before them, the stone road sloped down and disappeared in the customs both. By the roadside, they could see a bright red sign, formed as pokéball pointing down the hill with.

"Route 15 to Fuchsia City" painted in faded yellow.

A few kids were still standing by the roadside talking, or fighting. Ash smiled brightly as he felt his fists tense at the thought of a new battle, he wanted to show the world that he really was the best. When the kids saw them, they started to wave eagerly and Ash Ketchum waved back.

"I think we are quit the heroes here!" he said brightly, the others smiled and started to walk down the path, suddenly not feeling tired at all.

Suddenly they heard the sound of thundering hoofs. Ash turned around and just managed to throw him self into the ditch to avoid being stamped down by the Rapidash roaring down the road. He quickly jumped to his feet just to see the pokémon disappearing towards the kids, and a girl with dark hair dancing in the wind.

"Did anybody catch the number on that truck?" he asked and dusted some dirt off his clothes.

"Pika!" Pikachu said and shook his head.

"That girl is insane" Misty said, furrowing her eyebrows in disgust.

"Yeah, she should be more careful, somebody could get hurt" Brock added and stared after her. 

She had stopped by some kids, and jumped off her fire horse. Ash rolled his eyes and took his hat, which Pikachu was handing him.

"Come on" he said " Let us go down and see what this is all about"

            Two blond girls, Ash remembered fighting before, greeted them. They smiled brightly and giggled when they saw them and Brock immediately got the look in his eyes, his friends knew all to well. Misty crossed her arms and muttered something under her breath.

"Hey" Ash said brightly.

"Hello Ash, it`s a long time since last" one of them said, Ash remembered that her name was April, and the other girl was her sister May.

"Yes it is how….how are things going?" he asked politely.

"My  Kakuna evolved into Beedrill" April said brightly.

"And my Ratta finally turned into Raticat, you want to fight?" May asked and Ash shook his head, it was not often he turned down a challenge, but right now, he was more interested in knowing whom the rider was.

"Do you know her?" Ash asked and nodded his head in the direction of the dark haired girl. May and April turned around, briefly and then turned back to the others and nodded.

"Oh yes, she has been hanging around here for a while, fighting, she is very good" April said and May hurryingly exclaimed.

"Good? She is brilliant, she beat all the trainers on this road, using a single pokémon"

Ash felt his shoulder tense again and he turned to Pikachu and saw that the electric pokémon was also ready for a fight; sparks were running through its fur. 

.

"Ash, you are not thinking about fighting this girl ?" Misty asked, knowing that no matter what she said, Ash was going to. She could just wave the though of going straight to her friend good bye.

"If she is as good as April and May says she is, yes" Ash said, and turned his cap around, curled his hands into a fists and looked at Pikachu. 

"Ready?" he asked and Pikachu nodded.

"Chuy!" it said and curled its small pawn into a fist.

"This can be really interesting" Brock muttered and hurried after them as Ash and Pikachu disappeared towards the girl.

The girl had long dark hair, reaching to her waist and was dressed in blank pants, a red tank top and had a long read trench coat, which seemed to be too heavy. She was resting against her Rapidash talking to one of the kids.

When Ash approached, she turned around, furrowed her eyebrows, and stared at Pikachu standing next to him. 

"You seem familiar…" she mused before he had time to introduce him self. Ash forced a smile.

"You always ran over me with your Rapidash" he said, her shoulders tightened a little before they relaxed and she ran a hand through her hair.

"I did….well sorry then" she muttered and turned her attention back to the blond haired boy she had been talking to.

"The trainers here says you are really good, interested in a fight?" Ash said quickly. The blond haired boy started at Ash, and then laughed.

"Even the famous Ash Ketchum can't defeat this trainer, she sent all out pokémon to the Center" he said brightly and Ash was getting anxious to show her what a real pokémon trainer was made of, if she was really this good he looked forward to beating her.

"Well, interested in a fight or not?" Ash asked ignoring the blond kid`s response. Brock and Misty stopped a few feet away from them, sat down on a rock, and sighed deeply.

"Think he can do it?" Misty asked and Brock shrugged.

"He is really good" Brock supported and Misty nodded slowly, the naïve trainer from Pallet had really evolved in two years and he was a powerful trainer, as well was his pokémon.

The girl bent down so that she was level with Pikachu. Pikachu hesitated and then walked slowly towards her. She held out her hand, and he sniffed it curiously, before she scratched him behind the ear. Pikachu cooed happily and Ash sighed, was this part of her strategy?

"He is really cute, I fell sorry for sending him to Center" she said and rose.

"Don`t worry, I would concern my self about my own pokémon" Ash said. He really hated people who felt like they had the victory in their pockets even before the match. Little did he know he had been one of them not so long ago.

"Are we fighting or not?" he asked again, and she sighed and nodded.

"Sure, but I warn you…"

"Three pokémon, two of three?" Ash said quickly and she nodded.

"Sure, whatever"

"Pikachu I choose you!" Ash yelled brightly and Pikachu jolted to life and jumped out on the road. Many people had gathered as they heard that the famous boy from Pallet was fighting against the unbeatable master. Brock and Misty walked closer this was a fight they did not want to miss.

The girl looked at her Rapidash, gently stroked its fur and then took out a pokéball from her belt and pressed the small button. 

"Well, let sparks fly then" she muttered. "Jazz, come on"

A Jolteon appeared and murmurs of aw and surprise spread around the crowd. They had suspected that she would choose a ground type pokémon; it would be stronger against the electric rodent. Even Ash was surprised and wondered what kind of strategy this was.

He had only met a Jolteon one time before, and was not very familiar with its moves and skills. On the other hand, the girl did not know how strong Pikachu was. Ash was about to tell Pikachu use his thunder shock, when Jolteon suddenly leaped forward.

Using its quick attack Jolteon, dug its claws in Pikachu`s chest. Pikachu  stumbled backwards in surprise and yelped in pain. Ash was taken completely by surprise and yelled to Pikachu and told him to use his thundershock. However, once again Jolteon attack and this time its jaws dug into Pikachu`s arms.

"Argh, thundershock" Ash yelled. Pikachu gathered its energy and sent a wave of sparks towards the Jolteon, but it simply dodge the attack  and in the next moment struck two times at Pikachu sending him flying backwards until its back hit Ash.

"Pikachu!" he called in panic and rushed to his aid. The pokémon blinked its eyes weakly at its trainer and was about to attack again, when Ash gently put a hand on its forehead. 

"That is okay, go to Misty and get some potion for your wounds" he said softly.

"Bulbasaur, use your razor leaf, now!" Ash ordered.

Jolteon managed to dodge some of the leafs that twirled down, other struck him across the nose, but he did not seem to notice. It simply shook the leafs of its body and then growled before the sky opened and a single lighting struck Bulbasaur.

"Bulba" it yelped and tried to stumble to its feet, but did not have the strength. Ash tightened his fists and looked at Brock for advice, but the gym trainer simply shrugged.

"You want to end it?" the girl asked, to amused for Ash`s liking and he shook his head furiously.

"Come on Charizard!" he ordered, in the next moment the roaring fire dragon roared and spat fire at everybody before it soared up in the sky and disappeared. No matter how hard Ash tried, or how many badges he had, the dragon did not always (or seldom) follow his orders.

The girl stared towards the sky were the fire pokémon soared above their heads, the other trainers also awed, but then started to laugh as they realized that this was not a part of Ash`s plan. Ash felt his cheek turn red as he blushed, and quickly called his pokémon back.

"Okay, you win" he muttered sadly.

"I only have Squirtle and Pidgeot left…..and they are no match for an electric pokémon" 

He called his dragon back and sighed deeply before he turned his attention to his wounded pokémon. The other trainers applauded for the skills the girl had showed, and for Ash`s brave attempt although they knew it had been useless from the start.

Brock and Misty rose from their rose and walked over to him, Misty carrying the wounded Pikachu in her arms.

"We should get him to the Center…we did not have enough potion" she whispered. Ash nodded slowly and gently took him out of her arms.

            "Here" the girl said suddenly and handed Ash a small bottle of Super Potion. Ash stared at the medicine in disbelief, that was a expensive potion, and he could barely afford it.

"No, I can't take it, he will be fine, the Center is just ahead" he said, he did not want the girl`s pity, She sighed deeply and let her hand run through her hair again.

"Stop being so darn stubborn" she barked angrily and forced the Potion in his hands. Ash hesitated then opened the bottle and handed it to Pikachu. Then he turned around about to thank her, when he saw that she had disappeared, in the distance he could see her  vanish on her Rapidash.

Brock stared after a long time with the same dreamy look he had when he meet beautiful girls.

Misty grabbed his arm forcefully and pulled him out of the trance.

"Come on loverboy, my friend is waiting"

"I told you she was good" April said as the two sisters approached.

"Hm…you were right, I wonder why she does not battle in the League" Ash mused as he used the rest of the Super Potion to heal Bulbasaurs wounds. The two sisters shrugged.

"We don`t know" there was an awkward silence, before May said. "Well, we have to go, it is getting late"

They said goodbye and the crowd started to split up and the four friends walked towards the City before the gates closed. Ash was still deep in thoughts wondering if there was something he could have done differently about the last fight. 

He realized there probably was not, if all he pokémon was a strong as her Jolteon he had a little chance. Nevertheless, that meant that he had to train more before he faced the League, in case she was there.

"I never got her name….." Brock said slowly after a while and Misty groaned.

They walked into the city that was preparing for nightfall, the stores were closing and the bright neon light glow from the Center glowed strongly. Misty headed towards the Center, telling them that her friend was expecting them there.

Ash walked after them, slowly, still in deep thoughts as he realized, he had never heard the girl mutter an order to her pokémon.


End file.
